MURFREESBORO – A high-profile domestic assault case coupled with changes in the way college campuses must report similar crimes means the MTSU Police Department must be "well-trained and prepared" for those encounters, Chief Buddy Peaster said.

The university released its Annual Security Report Wednesday, which largely focuses on crimes such as robbery, arson and drugs. The report identifies crimes reported Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 of any given year, as required by a federal law known as the Clery Act. The report must include three years of crime statistics, along with fire safety.

In recent weeks, footage of Baltimore Ravens football player Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee in an elevator earlier this year was made public. Rice was initially suspended for two games but then was suspended indefinitely. Peaster, who has served as chief of the university's police department for more than eight years, said awareness of domestic violence crimes has gone up due to the Rice incident.

"Those types of problems know no age barrier. On campus, they involve very young people. We need to be well-trained and prepared to help whether they are victims or haven't had to deal with that before," he said. "We want to help keep people from being victims."

This year the categories that are required to be reported have expanded with dating violence, domestic violence and stalking, Peaster said.

A total of 30 such crimes — six for domestic violence and 12 each for stalking and dating violence — were reported to officers in 2013.

In an effort to prevent sexual crimes, MTSU has ongoing training for faculty and staff. A new poster awareness effort in student housing is directed toward students to help them identify, stop and report sexual violence. A new mobile app allows the entire campus community to protect themselves and quickly contact law enforcement in case of emergencies. Additionally, free rape defense classes for women are offered during the year.

"MTSU isn't immune but we want to be prepared and able to respond correctly when those people need our services," the chief said.

Later this month, the June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students is serving as hostto educator, activist and international lecturer Tony Porter oncampus to share his "A Call to Men" initiative aimed at stopping violence against women. The event is specifically aimed at engaging men on campus and in the community about their responsibility to help solve the problem of sexual violence against women.

The event is scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct 21 at the James Union Building. The June Anderson Center is partnering with the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Program in Rutherford County, MTSU Office of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs and MTSU Fraternity and Sorority Life.

University dispatchers have answered roughly 25,000 calls in the past three years, but not all require the assistance of an officer. Ultimately, Peaster said, he would like anyone who has trouble on campus to contact police.

"I'm thankful for a lot of people at MTSU. They provide a great place to go to school, work and visit. Those are the people who make the difference. There's always room for improvement, but people care about what happens to other people here and are trying to come up with new ways to push out safety programming," he said.

"On a college campus, and I've worked for three, it's a team building process among students, parents, staff and visitors. There's an individual component and an institutional component. A university will only be policed well if it's important to the community," Peaster added.

Contact Mealand Ragland-Hudgins at 615-278-5189 or mragland@dnj.com. Follow her on Twitter @dnj_mrhudgins.